A new self-serve frozen yogurt shop is set to open around Thanksgiving at 1050 N. Hancock St. in Northern Liberties, bringing 10 rotating in-house flavors and more than 40 toppings to a neighborhood its owner says already feels like a community. Bryar's Yogurt Bar is the creation of Britney Stein, who named the shop after her son, Bryar, born in January 2026.
Stein's path to opening the shop began long before motherhood. According to PhillyVoice, she started selling frozen yogurt as a teenager at the Jersey Shore, and her company's own account goes further back: per Bryar's Yogurt Bar, she got her first job at a frozen yogurt shop at age 14 and purchased that very business by the time she was 19. Stein and her husband decided the timing was right to open a shop in Philadelphia after their son arrived, and she said she decided to return to the frozen-yogurt trend she'd grown up in.
Why Northern Liberties Felt Right
Stein toured several storefronts before settling on Northern Liberties, telling the outlet the neighborhood felt like a community. She noted that Philadelphia had few self-serve frozen yogurt operations of its own, so she studied emerging businesses in New York as she built out her concept. Bryar's Yogurt Bar also participated in neighborhood farmers markets as it prepared for its storefront debut.
Stein has been candid about what she sees as the industry's past failures. She identified a lack of originality in taste as a major issue plaguing earlier frozen-yogurt chains, saying that past suppliers offered little variety and that shops' products often tasted alike. In her view, the product simply needed more time to evolve — and she said she hopes to revive the nostalgic self-serve experience that drew customers to froyo shops in the first place.
What's on the Menu
The shop's initial lineup will include classic vanilla and original Greek frozen yogurt alongside more adventurous options: pumpkin pecan, chai cheesecake, cookie batter, caramel pear crisp, and a blood orange creamsicle made with fresh-pressed orange juice. All of the frozen yogurt will be made in-house using natural flavor compounds sourced from a supplier, and the shop says every batch is crafted with natural ingredients. The yogurt itself will be gluten-free, with several flavors also nut-free, and customers will be able to serve themselves at a self-serve acai station as well. Cups will be priced by weight, and the shop will round out its offerings with high-protein smoothies. Stein said she hopes to eventually open additional locations around the region.
A Treat That's Had Its Ups and Downs
Frozen yogurt's path to this moment has been anything but linear. The dessert first became popular in the 1980s, then proliferated across the country from the mid-2000s until around the COVID-19 pandemic, as PhillyVoice's reporting lays out. That first comeback was partly driven by demand for a lower-calorie alternative to ice cream, but the market eventually became oversaturated, and consumer habits shifted in response. A 2018 Philadelphia Magazine piece captured the lull, noting that while the frozen yogurt trend had slowed, some local spots were still dishing it out.
Now the category appears to be rebounding. Frozen yogurt chains as a whole reported positive year-over-year growth for most weeks in the first half of 2026, according to Placer.ai data cited by Franchise Times, and Brix Holdings CEO Sherif Mityas told the outlet, “There's definitely a resurgence.” New shops in New York, Chicago and other cities have leaned into artisanal flavors and the perceived benefits of probiotics, part of a broader wave that Modern Retail attributes partly to Gen Z's affinity for viral, experiential retail combined with interest in yogurt's wellness benefits.
National Players Point to a Bigger Moment
The numbers behind that resurgence are notable. 16 Handles has 45 shops open with another 70 in development, and the chain signed 25 new franchise agreements in the first half of 2026 alone, already surpassing its total for all of 2025, according to Modern Retail. Self-serve Greek yogurt chain Go Greek has expanded to 30 locations across the U.S. and as far as the Middle East, with annual growth of 20% to 30% per location since 2020. Go Greek Yogurt's director of strategy and growth told Modern Retail the company was on track for more than 50 global locations by the end of the first quarter of 2027. The Los Angeles Times notes today's trend reflects changing lifestyles that prioritize protein, a shift from the low-fat, low-calorie focus of earlier froyo booms.
Closer to home, the comparisons are easier to spot. PhillyVoice points to Mimi's, a New York self-serve shop that has drawn long lines and expanded to three locations; the brand, founded by Amber Linz and Saul Katz, was built as a more mature, health-forward alternative to earlier chains, according to Eater New York, and features a rotating toppings bar with locally sourced, seasonal produce and sauces like matcha. Pennsylvania has seen its own signs of froyo momentum too — Pinkberry recently opened its first central Pennsylvania location at Camp Hill Commons, per ABC27, while independently owned Chill on the Hill in Chestnut Hill offers a similar self-serve format with 10 rotating flavors and more than 40 toppings, and was named a 2026 Philadelphia Inquirer Philly Favorites reader-voted winner in the ice cream category.
Stein has expressed interest in the broader industry's resurgence while preparing to open Bryar's Yogurt Bar in time for the holiday. With a storefront secured, a menu built around in-house flavors, and a neighborhood she says already feels like home, the Northern Liberties shop is positioned as one more entry in what multiple outlets are calling frozen yogurt's second act.
